Halloween Hangovers
by Ramona Bandicoot
Summary: Halloween costume parties and glasses of champagne can leave some hauntingly embarassing moments. -oneshot-


**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_I had to do a Halloween story! I know it's not really scary…but it's Halloween themed so…I guess it counts. Anyway, I'm still working on For Every Cooper, but I decided to take a short break to write this for the upcoming holiday. Other than that, please read and review and let me know what you think. Thanks! _

Halloween Hangovers

I strolled silently through the partygoers as I searched for a place to sit. To be honest, I really didn't want to be here, but considering that it was Halloween, I guess that going to a costume party was better than sitting at home fighting Murray for a piece of chocolate. Although, coming here with another person would have probably been a better idea, Murray, who has always been a kid at heart, had set on a trick-or-treating venture while Bentley stayed cooped up in the house, too afraid of monsters, spiders, and ghouls to enjoy the holiday. However, I decided to get out of the house and try to enjoy the Halloween festivities by going to the Halloween party at the local opera house. Everyone inside was dressed in some sort of costume and I wasn't an exception. I wasn't the most creative person in the world, so my costume was relatively simple; I was an Englishman. My costume was nothing more than a suit and a monocle, but it got the point across. I'd gotten my inspiration from my English ancestor, Thaddeus Winslow Cooper, and figured it was a good enough costume. I sighed and kept walking through the crowd of people and I quickly realized that coming alone wasn't the best idea. I had no one to talk to and I knew almost no one there, with the exception of the dozens of undercover officers there. However, I soon figured out that I wasn't the only one that had come alone. I passed by a set of French doors that led out to one of the balconies scattered along the outside of the building and I spotted a lonely Ramona sitting on one of the stone benches they had placed outside.

She was alone outside and it was obvious by her body language that she was just as bored as I was. I picked up a glass of champagne and sipped it before going through the doors. I wasn't much of a drinker but I would need something to hold while I sat out there. I silently opened the doors, trying to keep her awareness level to a minimum. I figured that given the holiday, scaring her wouldn't be too cruel. I closed the doors silently behind me before glancing to the raccoon. She sat in the middle of the bench with her elbows on her knees and she was silently picking off chunks of a chocolate bar and eating them slowly; all the while looking out over the balcony and onto the streets below. The noise for the ballroom died down after the doors were closed and the only thing I could head was the sounds of cars passing below and the occasional gust of wind. Ramona hadn't noticed I had joined her outside but I didn't say anything the first few minutes. I looked over the raccoon again and sipped at my drink. Like everyone else in the building, she was dressed in her own costume. I wasn't really sure what it was, but it appeared to be a feminine version of the Mad Hatter, but I wasn't too sure. She had on a really short black dress that had a high collar, much like a Victorian style dress with sleeves that went just past her shoulders. The dress itself stopped mid-thigh where it poofed out with bright green and pink lace underneath the dress. She had a long hair pulled up in a sloppy bun high on her head with the signature top hat placed on her head; complete with the 10/6 card and hatpins. Then to complete the outfit the chain of a silver pocket watch was attached to her dress, her fingernails and toenails were each painted a different color; she had long, multicolored tube socks that reached to the knee on, without the toe section in order for her to show off her toes, and finally, a simple pair of black heels. Her costume made mine look like crud, but I frankly didn't care what I looked like. I took another sip of my drink before finally breaking the silence.

"Well isn't someone dressed up?" she jumped in surprise and her attention quickly snapped in my direction.

"Give a girl a warning before sneaking up on her, would you?" she said playfully. The corners of her mouth curled into a smile as she brushed the few strands of hair that dangled in front of her face.

"It's Halloween, Mademoiselle, scaring is a fair game." She giggled quietly and quickly placed another piece of chocolate on her tongue.

"I suppose it is, Cooper." I used my nose to motion to the empty spot beside her, in hopes she would allow me to sit next to her. To my delight, she patted the empty section of the bench next to her and I walked by her and sat on her right. I quickly unbuttoned the button on my suit so I could sit without popping the said button off. I sat so that there were a few inches between us but we were still close. She gripped her drink in her paws and glanced over to me.

"I thought you weren't much of a drinker?" I said in an attempt to start up on conversation.

"I'm not, but I need something to get me through this party," she said softly as she sipped at the champagne in the glass, "and I could say the same about you." She nudged my arm with her elbow and raised an eyebrow.

"So I take it that you've been bored? Which is a shame really for a pretty lady like yourself, it's not every day you get all dressed up." I winked and she simply giggled in response.

"Coming here alone probably wasn't the smartest idea, but my brother is such a partier that he completely forgets I'm in the crowd." She finished off her drink and placed the empty glass beside her gently before standing and strolling over to the balcony, leaning against the concrete and allowing her arms to hang over the side. I stood myself and followed her to the banister. She kept her eyes glued to the street below as I rested my arms on the concrete.

"Well, Bentley's not too fond of Halloween and Murray goes on a candy hunt every year, so being along isn't that bad. Besides," I said as I nudged her elbow, you never know who you'll meet on a balcony." I winked again and she rolled her eyes playfully. We looked at the streets below, watching the dressed up children walk down the street with their parents, all on the search for candy. I heard Ramona sigh to herself and I glanced in her direction. I could tell she was starting to get bored, and cold for that matter, and I figured we needed something else to do. I stood up straight and started pulling her with me. She stayed on her section of the railing and furred her eyebrows.

"Where are we going?" I still had her by a few of her fingers but she stayed put.

"We're dancing," I said simply and she shook her head.

"I don't dance, Cooper. You know that." I pulled her up and smiled.

"You do dance, Mademoiselle. Not often but you do dance. In fact, you taught me how to dance if I remember correctly." I flashed Ramona a smile and she huffed playfully.

"Sly, the only time I dance in public is if I have to for a job," she placed her paws on her hips, "or when I'm drunk." I chuckled and opened the French doors, allowing Ramona to walk into the ballroom. The Halloween-spirited raccoon wrapped her arm around mine as we walked through the swarms of people. We didn't do that much, but we did walk around and chat. I followed her to the table filled with foods and a large punch bowl.

"I'm going to get you to dance tonight, Ms. Bandicoot, that's my goal for tonight!" she shook her head with a smile as she picked up her glass of punch.

"I'm not dancing, Cooper. I don't dance in public," she smirked in my direction and drank about half of the punch in her glass before her face twisted into one of disgust, "Oh that's horrible!" she tossed the rest of her cup in the nearby trash can and wiped her mouth, "That is almost pure alcohol." I couldn't help but laugh and she shot me a falsely annoyed glance.

"You know they could warn someone before letting people drink that without warning." She ranted and I laughed again.

"Come on Ramona, how bad can half a glass of punch be?" she scoffed and playfully punched my stomach.

"Oh please, I'm stumbling around like a drunk after a dose of cold medicine, let alone booze." Ramona had no drug or alcohol tolerance whatsoever and I knew I'd only be a matter of time before she was a laughing goofball. My arm slipped around her waist and we continued to stroll around the room. We talked quietly to each other, trying to figure out the costumes of other parry goers and making fun of the more ridiculous costumes. Ramona of course laughed at my rather simple one, but it wasn't as bad as some of the others. An hour had passed since I had found her and it was when she started laughing at just about anything that I knew she was starting to get drunk off that half a glass of punch. She was a funny drunk, but a drunken thief in the middle of a crowded ballroom probably wasn't the best idea. I kept my paw firmly on her waist to keep her from wandering off and getting into trouble or toppling over her own feet. It looked like she didn't really seem to mind, considering the fact she was using me for support, but I wanted to get her out of there as soon as I could. I needed to get her to her apartment before she made a fool out of herself or got the both of us caught by the numerous police officers at the party. She suddenly grabbed me by my collar and pulled me onto the dance floor, laughing the entire time.

"Where are we going?" I asked as she tugged me along. She laughed louder and turned to face me briefly.

"Dancing," she said, "Stupid!" she slapped the side of my head before pulling me forward.

"I thought you didn't want to dance?" I lifted and eyebrow and she shrugged with a goofy smile as we reached the middle of the dance floor.

"Why not? It's not like anyone's watching!" her words were slurred, but I smiled and we assumed our positions on the dance floor. My arm snaked around her waist as my paw pressed against her lower back, again in an attempt to keep her from passing out in the middle of the floor. My free paw gently grasped one of hers while her other paw grasped my shoulder. Our bodies were pressed together as we started gliding across the ballroom floor. She followed my lead as we avoided running into the other dancing couples around us.

"You're a pretty good dancer, Cooper." I smirked as we kept dancing.

"Well, I did learn from the best." I gave her a wink and she giggled again. The song we were dancing to was already slow, but after a while our dancing became slower and we eventually just stood there and rocked. Both paws eventually slid to her waist while hers went to my shoulders. We eventually stopped moving completely and just stood there. I leaned in, ready to kiss her, when she started slinking back, the alcohol in her system had started taking full affect.

I supported her back to keep her from falling when the music that was playing started to get more upbeat. That's when the night turned from fun…to embarrassing. She started dancing in some of the strangest ways; flapping her arms, shaking her hips, and attempting to twist but failing horribly. She switched from freestyle moves to some of the horrible disco moves from the seventies. There was nothing that I could do but just stand there and watch her embarrass herself to the point of no return. I groaned and placed my paws on my face, trying to hide my shame, as she kept dancing. I had to get her out of there, but I had to wait for the perfect moment. She started making her way across the ballroom and I chased after her, determined to get her out of there without completely making a fool of herself. I followed after her and tried to get Ramona back before it got even worse than it already was.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

I leaned on the doorway to Ramona's bedroom, holding two cups of coffee in my paws; one for me and one for the hung over raccoon in bed. I had eventually chased her down during the ball and managed to get her home safely. After trying to get her in bed for almost an hour, I had ended up falling asleep on her couch. It was almost ten in the morning when I finally woke up but Ramona was still asleep. I knew good and well that Ramona would have a horrible hangover so giving her a cup of coffee might help it. She had fallen asleep in her dress and I wasn't about to get her changed. She stretched but stayed asleep. I laughed and sipped my coffee. Maybe waking her up would be a little mean but after what she did to embarrass me last night, it was worth it.

"Good morning Ramona Bandicoot!" I shouted into her bedroom. She groaned loudly and sat up groggily.

"Sly! Shut up! I have a headache," she flopped down on her bed, "and a hangover." I chuckled and strolled inside. I sat on the edge of her bed and handed her a cup of coffee. She sat up and grabbed the cup quickly.

"I bet you do," I chuckled, "you seemed like you had fun last night." She shook her head and attempted to use one paw to fix her mangled hair, but it simply stayed scrunched up on one side of her head.

"I honestly don't remember last night," She sipped at her cup and rested her head on my shoulder, "What was the rest of the night like?"

"It was nice…until we danced. Then it got, well …complicated." She furred her eyebrows and shook her head.

"What are you talking about? We didn't dance." I barked a laugh and drank from my cup.

"Oh, _we_ danced alright." She yawned quickly before continuing.

"Sly, I don't remember that." I laughed again. She drank her coffee with a look of confusion.

"You probably don't. And you probably don't remember spanking the waiter on your way out," she cocked her head with wide eyes and I chuckled, "Check your bra he gave you his phone number." She handed me her coffee and I placed it on the table next to the bed as she looked for the note. She eventually pulled out the note and her eyes widened.

"I was hammered wasn't I?" I nodded and pulled out my phone. I scrolled through the videos and eventually handed her the phone. Apparently, her brother had come in right before we had started dancing. He had recorded the normal dance we had then Ramona's…freestyle moves. So instead of helping me chase down his drunken sister, he forwarded me the video.

"We did dance." Ramona said as she watched. Her head stayed on my shoulder and I waited for her to realize how she danced. Eventually, her facial expressions changed. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open.

"Holy crap," She muttered, "Holy crap. You've got to be kidding me. Oh my gosh." She buried her face under my arm and muttered something, "Please tell me that's as bad as it gets." She said after lifting her head.

"No, it gets worse," she groaned and ran a paw down her face, "Do you want me to fast forward to the part where the men started pinning dollar bills to you?"

"No!" she flopped on her pillows and groaned loudly, "I'm mortified." I laughed and put my phone on the bedside table.

"Well, the good news is that you made over three hundred bucks in tips." She slapped my side before groaning and clutching her head.

"I'm never showing my face in public again. Never again, Sly, never again!" I leaded on my elbow on the pillow next to her head a chuckled.

"Now why would you need to deprive this city of seeing your pretty face?" she glared before her eyes snapped open. She shot up and gripped the collar of my shirt.

"Please tell me my brother didn't see that! For the love of all that is good tell me that he didn't see that!"

"He's the one that recorded you." Her face dropped again.

"No! No! He's never seen me drunk before! …That he knows of!" she fell forward on my chest and groaned again. I wrapped my arms around her in a hug and rested my chin on her head. My eyebrows furred when my finger ran across something like paper and I craned my neck to see what it was.

"Hey, someone gave you a twenty!" I shouted as I pulled the bill from her behind.

"That's so embarrassing!" she shouted as she buried her face into my shirt. I laughed again and we just sat there in each others arms. Sure, she had a hangover and morally embarrassed, but it was worth it so we could have this one moment alone together without fighting…and the fact she had been publicly humiliated was just icing on the cake.


End file.
